Editing Bexhill-on-Sea (section)

== Economy ==
Reginald Sackville, seventh Earl [[De La Warr]], decided to transform what was then a village on a hill around its church into an exclusive seaside resort, which he named Bexhill-on-Sea. He was instrumental in building a sea wall south of the village, and the road above it was then named De La Warr Parade. Large houses were built inland from there, and the new town began.

In 1890, the luxurious Sackville Hotel was built.
[[File:The Victorial Era, De La Warr Parade, Bexhill.jpg|thumb|Victorian influences still alive today]]
Bexhill was the location for the first [[motor racing|motor race]] in the United Kingdom, in May 1902.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://royalautomobileclub.co.uk/archive/archive_navmain5.asp?groupid=675&tabstyle=main|title=Learn more about The Royal Automobile Club|work=royalautomobileclub.co.uk|access-date=6 October 2009|archive-date=5 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170705200619/https://www.royalautomobileclub.co.uk/archive/archive_navmain5.asp?groupid=675&tabstyle=main|url-status=dead}}</ref> Signs at the town's outskirts have the text "Birthplace of British Motor Racing" appended below the town's name. The Bexhill 100 Festival of Motoring, held on Bexhill's seafront, celebrated this important milestone in motoring history from 1990 until 2002. This final festival commemorated the Centenary of the original "Races". During the life of the festival, in 1999, the organisers launched the Bexhill 100 Motoring Club, so although the Festival no longer exists, the club still exists, and their committee organises each year, the Bexhill 100 Motoring Club Classic Car Show held on August bank holiday Monday in the Polegrove, Bexhill.

[[The De La Warr Pavilion]], brainchild of the [[Herbrand Sackville, 9th Earl De La Warr|ninth Earl De La Warr]], opened in 1935 as one of the earliest examples of [[Modern architecture]] in a major British public building. It closed for major restoration work in December 2003 and reopened in October 2005.

During the [[Second World War]], Bexhill was named as a point to attack as part of [[Operation Sea Lion]] by [[Nazi Germany]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_sealion.htm |title=Operation Sealion |publisher=Historylearningsite.co.uk |access-date=29 May 2013 |archive-date=2 June 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602012933/http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/operation_sealion.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The town, like many other English seaside resorts, is now much more a settled community. Although there is a small entertainment area on the seafront, it now has a large retired population, like much of the [[South Coast of England|south coast]]. Efforts are being made to increase tourism in Bexhill, including annual events such as the 'Festival of the Sea' and, formerly, 'Roaring Twenties Day', each held during the summer.<ref name=":0" />

The last remaining cinema was sold to the Wetherspoon pub chain on 1 December 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/local/wetherspoon-delighted-to-buy-old-bexhill-cinema-1-6428201|title=Wetherspoon "delighted" to buy old Bexhill cinema|work=bexhillobserver.net|access-date=31 December 2014|archive-date=31 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141231235005/http://www.bexhillobserver.net/news/local/wetherspoon-delighted-to-buy-old-bexhill-cinema-1-6428201|url-status=live}}</ref>